What is a hassle-free, effective way to organize recipes?

Question

I've got numerous recipes - from jotted down family recipes, to article cut-outs, to recipe cards. I want to organize them but I'm not sure how or where to begin. Should I organize them alphabetically, based on the type of meal/dessert it's for, cuisine, etc... And how should I organize them? In folders, albums, etc....I'd like to be able to find the recipe I'm looking for quickly and easily. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

well i got a spiral note book with plastic sheets you can pick up at office depot or staples . and because they are plastic if you drop something on them they wipe off easy . I organized it alphabetically and it works just fine . makes things very simple . good luck and god bless.

Answer 2

I have been printing off my recipes from the internet and putting them into a 3-ring binder using those clear sheet protectors. Then I use dividers to separate types of meals. I have breakfast, sides, main course, crock pot, and desserts. Overtime as it gets larger, I will be adding more dividers for chicken, beef, pork, etc.

You can also find (I'm not sure where though), clear plastic pages that index card size recipes can fit into. Or, what I may do, is just paste or tape the cards onto a sheet of paper and place it in a sheet protector.

good luck!

Answer 3

Iris R, Burt C, and RSJ are right. Computerize. I had all my paper recipes well organized for years but even so it was a pain to find one when I wanted it. With a computer doing the searching its a cinch. You can still browse (I like to do that), but when you know what you want, it's great to be able to go right to it in a fraction of a second.

The time you'll have to spend loading your recipes will eventually be well worth it. Also, a scanner can be a boon, and cut down enormously on the data entry time.

Answer 4

Well putting them in a binder works wonders...I ordered these little recipie books where you can put 4 x 6 index cards in....its pretty much the same thing as a photo album (one picture per page) those little ones so if you wanted to, you can just buy a regular photo album and do it that way...they stay organized and you can even make your own tabs to divide the different food categories...hope this helps

Answer 5

You might not like this answer, but it offers the best options. Take the time to copy them onto your computer. Perhaps you have a teenager who could help you. I keep all my recipes on the computer. I have the main folder called “recipes”. Then, there’s subfolders: main dish, vegs, desserts, favorites, kid’s meals, potluck, etc. Under main dish- I have a subfolder for chicken and for ground beef. It’s simple to copy a recipe. One recipe I probably have in 4 different folders. Plus, if someone needs a recipe, I can easily email it to them.

Answer 6

Have you considered buying an inexpensive recipe program? MasterCook is one I use. It comes with 10,000 or so recipes but also lets you set up your own "cookbooks" and type your own recipes into them. Then you can find the recipe you want by searching for anything about the recipe such as ingredients, recipe type, recipe name, etc.

Bert

Answer 7

Mine are on my computer HD, in Word.

I have one folder called RECIPES.

A bunch of sub-folders called APPETIZERS, BEVERAGES, SIDE DISHES, ENTREEs, etc.

Under some of the subfolders, I have more. Like under Entrees, I have BEEF, CHICKEN & TURKEY, SEAFOOD, etc. and under DESSERTS I have CAKES, PIES, COOKIES, etc.

Very easy, and you can search by keyword

Answer 8

It depends do you mind typing them up? That would keep them on your computer and are easy to search. I would first sort them by kind such as soups,desserts, meats etc within that category sort by alphabet.

Answer 9

the type of meal and abc
or the food group
try writing them down on index cards and put them in a index card holder